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fleece neck gaiters and bandanas are least effective at stopping covid-19 droplets, study finds

surprisingly, a fleece neck gaiter actually increased the number of droplets expelled. 'the notion that "anything is better than nothing" didn’t hold true'

by aileen donnelly, national post

aug 11 2020
read time 3 minute read
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it turns out the common refrain that any mask is better than no mask is not always true, researchers say.

but their study, published online this month in the journal science advances , also found that many homemade masks can substantially reduce the spread of covid-19.

researchers at duke university in north carolina compared the effectiveness of 14 masks and face coverings at stopping the droplets that people expel while talking. each covering was tested 10 times by one speaker and three of them by four speakers. the test subjects were asked to say the phrase “stay healthy, people.”

“we confirmed that when people speak, small droplets get expelled, so disease can be spread by talking, without coughing or sneezing,” martin fischer, one of the study authors, an associate research professor at duke, said in a  news release . “we could also see that some face coverings performed much better than others in blocking expelled particles.”

the study confirmed that n95 masks without valves are most effective at stopping the spread of covid-19, with just 0.1 per cent of droplets escaping compared to the same speaker with no mask. surgical masks came in second with one per cent. however, given that these masks are needed most by hospital workers, the researchers also looked at a variety of homemade masks and other common face coverings.

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the study found that many homemade masks perform well. a polypropylene/cotton blend mask released just five per cent of droplets and most of the pleated cotton masks tested released less than 20 per cent of droplets. but the results varied, proving the need for more testing of commonly worn face masks, the researchers said.
a knitted mask provided less protection than any of the cotton ones and a bandana only cut the number of droplets in half. surprisingly, a fleece neck gaiter actually increased the number of droplets expelled to 110 per cent.
“we attribute this to the fleece, the textile, breaking up those big particles into many little particles. they tend to hang around longer in the air, they can get carried away easier in the air, so this might actually be counter-productive to wear such a mask,” fischer said in a video released by the university.
“we certainly encourage everyone to wear a mask, but we want to make sure that when you wear a mask and you go to the trouble of making a mask, you make one, or wear one that actually helps not just you, but helps everyone.”
the idea for the study came after eric westman, an associate professor of medicine at duke university, started working with a local non-profit to provide free masks to people who need them, according to a university press release.
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“if everyone wore a mask, we could stop up to 99 per cent of these droplets before they reach someone else,” westman said. “about half of infections are from people who don’t show symptoms, and often don’t know they’re infected. they can unknowingly spread the virus when they cough, sneeze and just talk.”
but westman wanted to know which masks were most effective so he could be sure he wasn’t giving people a false sense of security.
he asked his colleagues to come up with an easy, cost-effective way to test common masks and that’s exactly what fischer did. the director of the advanced light imaging and spectroscopy facility used a cardboard box, a laser, a lens and a cell phone camera to “macgyver” an inexpensive contraption to test face masks.
“this was just a demonstration — more work is required to investigate variations in masks, speakers, and how people wear them — but it demonstrates that this sort of test could easily be conducted by businesses and others that are providing masks to their employees or patrons,” fischer said in the news release.
westman said the study revealed that the masks he planned to purchase wouldn’t have been effective at reducing the spread of covid-19.
“they were no good,” westman said. “the notion that ‘anything is better than nothing’ didn’t hold true.”
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